Nissan Does a Low Key Tit-for-Tat with General Motors at Plug In 2009 -
EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS

LONG BEACH, CA - August 12, 2009: Both General Motors and Nissan used
their presence at this year’s Plug In conference in Long Beach,
California to promote their first American electric cars, both expecting to
be available to consumers about 14 months from now in late 2010: GM with
their Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan with their newly announced Leaf.

Tony Posawatz, Vehicle Line Director, Global Electric Vehicles &
Chevrolet Volt, kicked off the five-presentation panel “First to
Market – The Arrival of Plug-In Vehicles” by telling the
audience that after recent testing and evaluation that the Volt expects to
achieve a city fuel economy rating of at least 230 MPG.

Tony continued by describing a very impressive suite of features that
Volt owners will enjoy from the vehicle’s interconnectivity with
GM’s now-mature OnStar service.

Two speakers later, Mark Perry, Director, Product Planning & Advanced
Technology Strategy, Nissan North America, trumped the GM announcements by
stating that although additional evaluation had to be conducted by Nissan,
that the Leaf is expected to achieve a city fuel economy rating of about
360 MPG. Mark added that the Leaf is a completely new design (rather than
borrowing from existing bodies), and that Leaf owners will be able to
interface from remote distances with their cars via cell phone. Leaf owners
will, for example, be able to turn on the vehicle’s air conditioning
or heating prior to the vehicle’s use in order to maximize
comfort.

Click PLAY to watch Tony Posawatz' complete presentation

Click PLAY to watch Mark Perry's complete presentation

One important, but heretofore unknown detail about the Chevy Volt, was
learned on Monday evening during the GM Media Dinner. The Auto
Channel’s Marc Rauch doggedly inquired as to why GM did not consider
using a non-gasoline engine in the Volt to re-charge the batteries, when
needed. Marc’s point was that the “green” value of the
Volt is mitigated if it still has to rely on gasoline. He asked if GM had
considered alternatives, such as a propane-fuel generator such as the ones
used to charge batteries and run the electric in motor homes. While the two
GM people (Btitta Gross and Dave Barthmuss) seated at Marc’s table
replied that GM had not considered this substitution, Britta did say that
the Volt’s small charging engine could use E85, which would provide a
nearly gasoline-free experience thereby helping to significantly reduce
harmful emissions. Marc and his fellow media-members seated within earshot
of Britta’s explanation were all quick to encourage Britta and Dave
to get GM to do a better job of promoting this information.

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